Who-who! Two chapter in one day! I am feeling so AWESOME right now! I do not fish, so any mistakes I make are mine alone.
The made it to Buckwater Creek after a silent buggy ride. The incident with Sally this morning in the Longbranch had left both Matt and Kitty somewhat speechless. Matt because he was confused about what had really happened at all and Kitty because she was still mad enough to spit.
When the reached Buckwater Creek though, things seemed to smooth out. Matt pulled the buggy to a stop in nice little clearning that had good grass for the horse to graze. He set the brake and then jumped down to help Kitty out. Then he unhitched the horse and hobbled him out into the tall grass. "Would you like me to take your basket out now or wait a while?" Matt asked.
"No. You can leave it for now." Kitty said. She smoothed her skirts and waited for Matt as he gathered up the poles and can of worms that he brought with for the fishing. Then they made their way to a shady spot along the creek bank. There the water was calm and Matt said to Kitty. "This should be a good place, it's nice and cool and the water is calm."
They each took a seat after Kitty spread a blanket on the bare creek bank. Then Matt handed her a pole and then set the can of worms between them. He baited his hook and dropped his line into the water. Kitty however just sat looking at the line and hook and the can of wiggling worms. Then with a look of disgust on her face and as quickly as possible she plucked up a worm and stuck him onto the hook. Then she too dropped her line into the water. Matt had watched the whole episode with a grin on his face. He would have baited her hook for her if she would have asked, but he still found it endearing that she had did it herself.
They sat in silence for a few moments both enjoying the shade and sounds of nature when the end of Kitty's pole began to bend towards the water. Matt sat and watched it and Kitty. It took her a few moments before she realized what was happening and then she said, "M-Matt!"
Matt looked towards her, "Yeah?"
"Matt, I think there's something on the end of my line." Kitty said, a small amount of shock and excitement in her voice.
Just then the end of pole bent way down and it was Matt's fast reactions wrapping an arm around Kitty and grabbing the pole that kept both the pole and Kitty from ending up in the water. Matt leaned back and pulled, when he did one the largest fish he had seen in a while flopped out onto the bank and Marshal Matt Dillon ended up sitting on his backside with Kitty in his lap. He had his arms around her still and Matt decided that he could get used to holding something as soft and warm as Kitty on a regular basis. However he also knew that he needed to get Kitty up out of the dirt and take a look at the fish she just caught.
Kitty couldn't believe what had just happened. Sure she had wanted to get closer to Matt, however she hadn't it imagined it happening this way. Matt had his arms wrapped around her so she said, "Matt, you can let go of me now."
She felt those long, strong arms unwrapping from around her and instantly felt as if she had lost something dear to her. Matt helped get her up and then Kitty stood to the side as Matt rose himself and went to take the fish from the hook. Kitty looked at the fish and again wondered how she could have ever been so lucky, or was it unlucky? Sure she liked setting on Matt's lap and having his arms around her but she had been hoping that would happen in a different way, not because some big ugly fish had both put them in that position.
Without Kitty on his lap Matt was able to get up and check out Kitty's catch. "Boy, that's a fine trout you caught Kitty. A fine, fine trout." Matt said as he knelt down and took the still flopping fish off from the hook. "He'll fry up really good."
Kitty moved to stand beside Matt where he knelt. "Yes, he looks fine Matt. Just fine."
Matt finished getting the hook out and put the fish on a stringer, then he rebaited Kitty's hook and dropped her line back into the water. Kitty had already gone back to sit on the blanket that she had laid down earlier and when Matt returned he sat a little closer than he previously had.
This continued all morning, each time Kitty caught a fish, Matt would get up to retrieve it, and would scoot closer to Kitty, this continued throughout the morning until Matt and Kitty were sitting shoulder to shoulder.
Finally Kitty became tired of the cat and mouse game that she and Matt had been playing all morning so she said, "Matt, I'm tired of fishing."
"Really, I would think that you would be enjoying yourself, seeing how your catching all the fish on this trip." Matt said with a grin and a chuckle.
"No, no, not really." Kitty said, suddenly becoming very interested in the pleats in her skirt and dropping her eyes.
"Oh." Matt said. "Well then, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?"
Kitty tipped back her head and batted her eyelashes at Matt. "Well Marshal, there is a lovely picnic lunch waiting for us in the back of that buggy."
"I guess I am kind of hungry." Matt said. He rose and went to the buggy. Then he took the basket out and carried it back to where Kitty sat. "Well whatever is in here, it sure smells good Kitty."
"Well I certainly hope that Sally's little episode this morning didn't ruin anything." Kitty said.
Matt swallowed hard before he asked, "What exactly was going on this morning Kitty?"
"Matt, if I knew I would tell you." Kitty said. "Now lets not let talk of Sally and her little escapades it will ruin a perfectly good meal." Kitty opened the basket and let out a small gasp. The pie that she had worked so hard on, now had a broken crust and some of the peaches that she had meticiously peeled and sliced had slopped out the side. The chicken looked ok but still the sight of that broken up pie just tore Kitty up. She felt the tears brim her eyes and she turned her head away to keep Matt from seeing the tears.
"What wrong Kitty?" Matt asked.
"N-Nothing. It's just the pie, it's all broken up." Kitty said, her back still turned to Matt and the tears flowing freely from her blue eyes.
Matt went to her side and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong now?"
Kitty turned into Matt's shoulder and cried. "My pie, it's all broken up. I got up early this morning to make that pie for you, along with the chicken and that, that Sally she just had to go and ruin it." Kitty said and cried all the harder.
"Ah Kitty, it's ok. I'm sure that pie will taste just as good now as it did when the crust was whole." Matt said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Kitty forced the tears to stop and after a few more sobs and hiccups raised her head from Matt's shoulder and looked at him. "You really think so?"
"Of course. Besides, peach pie is my favorite and I don't care how it looks, its the taste that matters." Matt said.
That cheered Kitty considerably and she began pulling things out of the basket and setting them on the blanket. They had a lunch of cold fried chicken and peach pie which Matt consumed with gusto, in fact he at four pieces. Kitty wasn't sure if he liked the pie that much or if he was just trying to make her feel better, but when he was finished he looked happy and content. So content in fact that by the time Kitty had finished picking up after their lunch that Matt had stretched out on the blanket and fallen asleep.
Kitty looked at him as he slept, he had his hat tipped to shade his eyes but she could still make out the outline of his face. The strong chin, cheeks with just a hint of stuble on them. Watching Matt now made Kitty wonder what Matt Dillon looked like when he first got up in the morning, with tousled hair, stuble roughened cheeks. It also made her entertain thoughts of what it would be like to wake up next to Matt Dillon in the morning. Would she have whisker burns in certain places? How would his silky brown hair feel as she run her fingers run through it. What would it be like to be Matt Dillon's woman?
Matt hadn't really fallen asleep but from under the shade of his hat, he could watch Kitty as she cleaned up. He knew that Kitty was probably thinking that he had eaten four pieces of her pie just to be nice but the truth was, it was good. It was in fact the best peach pie he had tasted in a good long while. He also liked watching Kitty. Sure he had watched while she worked in the saloon but watching her now was different. Watching as she cleaned up all the chicken bones and threw them out into the grass and straightening things up made even Matt Dillon want to take back his solomn vow to himself that he would never take a wife. He was sure that Kitty would make a fine one too, yes Miss Kathleen Russell raised some feelings in Matthew Dillon that he thought he'd never have to deal with.
When Kitty finished cleaning up she moved to sit beside Matt, she leaned back against the same tree that Matt was using as a pillow and soon found herself asleep as well.
Ok I know I know, probably not as good as what everyone was expecting but I didn't thing Matt or Kitty would either one be ripping each other's clothes off the first time they go on an outing. Anyway, I would say not my best work but I was running out of stuff at the end so I had to try and make a good ending.
